Mental health consequences of exposure to mass and non-mass shootings in a national sample of US adults

Abstract

Gun violence exposure is a major public health issue in the United States, yet its mental health consequences remain insufficiently examined. This study investigates the short- and long-term psychological self-reported impacts of lifetime gun violence exposure using a cross-sectional survey of 10,000 respondents designed to be representative of US adults administered online by YouGov in January 2024. Findings revealed that 20.1% of respondents reported a mass shooting in their community, 18.3% had been threatened with a firearm, and 2.2% and 2.4% were injured in mass and non-mass shootings, respectively. Between 58.6% and 94.4% reported mental health consequences across exposure types, with younger individuals and women particularly vulnerable. While mass shootings corresponded with greater psychological distress, the long-term impacts, including post-traumatic stress, were reported at a higher rate following non-mass shootings. These findings promote trauma-informed public health interventions tailored to both individual and community-level needs in the aftermath of gun violence.